Hand-brake ratchet.



REESE. HAND BRAKE BATCHET. APPLmAlIoN FILED JUNE 23,1913A Patented Mar.l?, 1914.

INVENTOR Q' 211 up WITNESSE,

FRANKLIN T. REE-SE, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

HAND-BRAKE RATCHET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mair. 17, 1914:.

Application tiled .Tune 23, 1913. Serial No. 775,389.

To all whom. 'it may concern i Be it known that I, FRANKLIN T. Rnnsn, acitizen of the United States, and resident ot Pittsburgh, in the countyof Allegheny and State et Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useli'ulImprovement in lland-Brake .tatehcts`; and l do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in railway hand brakes and isparticularly concer-ned with improvements in brake operating mechanism.in which the brake actuating handle may i'uiirmally hang vertically,parallel with the brake shaft and out of the way7 and may be brought upinto horizontal oroperating position and at the same time may beclutched into operating eng-agement with the brake shaft.

rl`he invention further contemplates a. construction in .which the dropof the brake handle to inoperative position causes the disengagnnnent otthe clutch with the brake shaft.

lu the drawings in which is illustrated the pret'erred embodiment ot theinvention, Figure 1 is a 'tringmentary vertical sectional view ot myimproved hand brake operating' mechanism, showing' the handle inoperative position; li`ig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, showirg thehandle in inoperative position; and Fig. l is a horizontal sectionalview on the line {Sw-3 Fig. 1.

ln the drawings 1 indicates the brake shaft to which the usual brakechain connected with the brake mechanism proper is attached. This shaft;may be supported at its upper end by the hand rail el the car platform,or as shown here, it may be journalcd in a bearing bracket or plate 2bolted to the side oi the ear and having' a journal bearing- 3 throughwhich the shaft passes. To the upper end of the brake sha't't is fixed ashalt actuating' ratchet plate or cap t, which may he .Fixed on theextreme angular `end 5 of the shz'rt't by means of a nut G, said plateor cap having)Y teeth 7 adapted to be engaged by a pawl arm 8 fixed to apintle 9 pveted on the bearlnp; bracket or plate 2,

said pintle also having fixed thereto a handle l() by which the pawl maybe disengaged from the ratchet cap when desired. This ratchet cap orplate is also provided with a second annular series of teeth l1 justinside ot' and concentric with the pawl series 7.

In order to aetuate the brake shaft by hand, said shatit has rotatablymounted thereon a sleeve l2 which, as shown in Fig. l, has a hexagonalouter surface 13. The lower end of this sleeve is cupped at 1-1- toreceive a spring 15, one end ot which is seated in a cupped recess 17 ofthe bearing bracket Q. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the lower @up end lltet this sleeve has a rotatable bearingalso on the walls '18 of therreess 17. Normally the spring 15 holds the sleeve 12 in elevatedposition. Slidably .mounted on the rotatalile sleeve 12 is a secondsleeve 19 hexagonal in shape to it over the hexagonal face oit' thefirst sleeve 1Q to rotate therewith on the shaft. The upper cud oitsleeve 19 is provided with a series 0f teeth Q0, which are adapted toengage the teeth 11 ot the ratchet cap` 1-, This outer sleeve isprovided with a cam lug 21 adapted tio rest upon the cam shapedektremity Q9. of a hand lever .23 having the handle 211. This hand leveris pivoted at Q5 in 'lugs 2G extending' laterally from the innerlrotatable sleeve lf2. When the hand lever is` in inoperative position,as shown in Fig'. i2, this outer ratchet sleeve 19 moves dowlni and itsteeth are thus disengaged from the'teeth 11 of the cap ratchet. llllicn,however, the operating handle is brought up to horizontal position, asindicated in Fig. 1, the cam hipr 21 raises the sleeve 't9 and engagesits teeth with the ratchet teeth 11. lVhen the handle is then turned inthe usual manner to apply the brakes the outer ratchet sleeve 19 rotateswith the inner Sleeve 12 and thereby through the ratchet teeth Q0 and1l, the latter on the cap ratchet 4t, the brake shaft is rotated t6apply the brakes. During this movement oi." the ratchet cap tthestoppawl 8 rides idly over the pawl teeth 7 of said cap. In bringingthehand lever Q3 hack to position for e second wind or application of powerthe series of teeth, 2O on the outer sleeve 19 ride down over the seriesof teeth 11 of the cap. This is permitted by the yielding of the spring15 which permits the inner sleeve 12, the outer sleeve 19 and the handleQ3 to move down slightly as aunit.

The moment the direction of movement of anism is attached. Alsowhen thehand lever drops to operative position the stop pawl S byreason of theweight of its handle 10 pre1 vents release of the brake and the same isordinarily released by -'slightly lifting this pawl handle 1'0. i

It will be seen therefore that the above described mechanism provideseffective and simple means for applying power to the -lorake shaft bymeans of the hand lever which normally lies entirely out of the way andwhich when raised to operative position simultaneouslythrows in theclutch connection with the brake shaft. Likewise when this handle isreleased the clutch mechanism is automatically disengaged from itsconnection with the brake shaft. One of the advantages of this form ofconstruction is that ffiO the ratchet mechanism is perfectly accessibleat all times, as it lies entirely' on the outside of the hub of theshaft actuating mechanism instead of being inclosed within said hub. l`urlhermore, inasmuch as both series of ratchet teeth are on theunderside of the ratchet cap 4 they are protected against eloggingl bydirt, ice or snow. Likewise, inasmuch as the spring 15 is entirelyinclosed within the sockets 1li and 1S it is also entirely protectedagainst the element-s.

The parts may be readily assembled after the bearing plate is secured inplace and upon the shaft merely by dropping the spring 15 and thenthe-actuating sleeve 12 with the ratchet sleeve 19 thereon, if desired,over theend of the brake shaft with the spring interposed between theinner sleeve and the bracket. The ratchet cap 4t is then dropped overthe screw end 5 of the brake shaft and secured in position by the nut 6.Any one or more of these parts may be readily replaced when desired ifWorn out or broken'.

What i claim is: A l. in brake mechanism, the combination y with a brakeshaft, and the bearing bracket therefor, of a hub rotatably mounted onsaid shaft, a handle pivoted to said lub and adapted',normally to lieparallel with said shaft,a1 ratchet/member slidably but nonrotatablymounted. on said. hub, a second ratchet member fixed on said shaft, and

means so constructed andarranped that when said actuating lever israised 4to operative posit-ion said slidable ratchet member will bethrown into engagement with said shaft ratchet to actuate the shaft andturn it in one direction and means to permit said slidable ratchetmember to ride idly over said second ratchet member when moved in thereverse direction.

2. In brake mechanism, the combination when said hub is rotated in onedirection on the shaft.

3. In a brake mechanism, the combination with a brake shaft and abearing bracket therefor, of a sleeve or hub rotatably and slidablymounted on said shaft, a spring` interposed between said hub and bearingbracket, a ratchet sleeveslidably but nonrotatably mounted upon saidhub, a ratchet member iixed to said shaft, a hand lever pivu oted onsaid hub and having a cam member adapted to engage a corresponding` cammember 'on said' ratchet sleeve'whereby when said lever is raised tooperative position said ratchet sleeve will be brought into engagementlwith said fixed ratchet menrber for operation of the shaft, said springsupport of said hub permitting said ratchet sleeve to ride idly over theratchet teeth of said fixed ratchet during the reverse movement of saidtoo therefor, of a ratchet member fixed on the y end of said shaft, anactuating hub rotatably and slidably mounted on the shaft, a springinterposed between said bearing bracket and said hub to hold the latternormally in elevated position, a ratchet sleeve slidably butnon-rotatably mounted upon said hub, a series of ratchet teeth on theunder side of said fixed ratchet member adapted to be engaged by theteeth of said ratchet sleeve, a hand lever pivoted upon said hub andadapted normally to hang in vertical position parallel with the shaft,said lever and said ratchet sleeve having,r coperating cam memberswhereby when said lever is raised to operative position the teeth ofsaid ratchet sleeve Will be engaged with those of Suid fixed ratchetmember for operation ot' the shaft, said spring permitting said ratchetsleeve to ride idly over said fixed ratchet while the hand lever israised in its operative raised position.

In testimony whereof, I the said FRANK- LlN T. Rumst: have hereunto setmyhand.

FRANKLIN T. REESE.

fitnessen-r onu'r C. TOI'IEN, JonN I". WILL.

